Of the Battles of the Aftermath
by forgery1
Summary: The story of a young Jedi, set after the Fall of the Galactic Empire. A new age has dawned, but peace must still be fought for to be won...
1. Chapter 1

Hey all. I've decided to use the first chapter for an introduction, otherwise everyone who read the actual fan fiction would be very confused... I'll try to keep this as coherent as possible: For a while I had been toying around with this idea for a fan fiction in my head, occasionally writing very hasty bits and pieces of it. Then, one day, decided to use the main character in my story, Relford, in an online role-play. My partners wanted to know a few things about him, especially his mysterious past and behavior, so I sat down and wrote the two chapters that I posted here. After doing so, I've decided that I really do want to write the rest of it, but I want some feedback first, as the story in its entirety will be quite long and take much time and effort to write. So... I've decided to submit it to the wonderful people here on (that's you guys). Please read my story and review it (oh, please review it; that's why I put it up here). Based YOUR opinion, I'll either trash the whole idea or go all the way with it. All right, now for some background and a few details!

This story I set thirty years after the Fall of the Galactic Empire. The remainder of the broken Empire was thrown into civil war without a Dark Sith Lord to lead them. After nearly five years of galactic war, a faction was finally able to seize complete control: the New Imperial Legion. Under the N.I.L., the shattered pieces of the Old Empire were beginning to be reformed. However, during this time, Grand Master Jedi Luke Skywalker had found all the remaining Jedi he could and re-established the Jedi Order. After training many in the ways of the Jedi, they opened a hidden school for new recruits: the Jedi Academy. The master and students at the Academy, in partnership with the Rebel Alliance, now an even more formidable force led by Prime Chancellor Organa, began to systematically destroy the N.I.L. before it could truly consolidate its power and begin a new cycle of tyranny. But, along with the return of the Jedi came the return of the Sith. Darth Vader's apprentice fled the Old Empire along with the few Sith that still remained and formed a secret empire of their own. The Order of the Sith also has an training academy, but no being except for a Sith knows where that is. And they don't give away their secrets. They are a kingdom unto themselves; their driving purpose is to destroy the Jedi and, eventually, rule the known universe.

Whew... Well, now that that's out of the way, I can begin Relford's story! A sixteen-year-old student at the Jedi Academy (during its first year), he is tall and athletic with shoulder-length messy brown hair and amber-brown eyes. His proffered outfit is simple: a black cloak, gray long sleeved tunic, and black pants with black leather boots. Cariss is also a sixteen-year-old student at the Academy. She's slightly shorter than Relford, beautiful with long brown hair and green eyes (side note: she wields a single green lightsaber) and her preferred outfit simply a tan long sleeved tunic with brown pants and brown leather boots. All right, I know that those were absolutely explicativey descriptions, but without the rest of the story fully in tact and re-written, it's that best I can do. The rest that I did write is pretty self-explanatory.

I should probably finish this before I start to ramble. I rated the story "T" because it has quite a bit of violence, blood, and "adult type themes" (that's the best way that I know how to describe them). As you read and review (if you are kind enough), keep in mind that this part is set near the very end of the story and there is MUCH more to it. Well, I'm done just filling up kilobytes now. Enjoy the story!


	2. The Confrontation

The Confrontation

Relford awoke with a gasp. He sat up and put his head

in his hands. Sweat trickled down his nose and landed

on the already soaked bed sheet. His chest was

glistening and heaving heavy breaths. He stood up and

began to get dressed. This time the feeling was too

strong. This time he would leave regardless of what

Master Cypher said. On his way out, Richard grabbed

his cloak and lightsabers.

Platt Cypher also awoke with a gasp when a hooded

figure burst into his room. Master Cypher ignited his

saber, it's purple glow the only light in the room

other than the light from the open door that

silhouetted the tall hooded figure. "Master Cypher,"

the figure said as it turned on the lights, "you can

put that away." Master Cypher blinked a few times. It was

his student. He sighed as he deactivated his saber "Yes,

Relford, what is it? Why in the name of the Force

have you disturbed me in the middle of the night?"

Relford didn't even pull down his hood. He didn't

expect this to work. He was going and Master Cypher

would have to kill him in order to stop him. "I have

to go to Carris. She's in danger. Please, Master, come with me! I don't want to do is without you, but if I must..."

Master Cypher sighed again. He put one hand on his

hip and used his other to rub his temples. "Relford,

you've been doing this ever since she left yesterday.

She only arrived there today. Besides, she's with

Master Silbat. If they get into trouble, he can

handle it." He looked at Relford and furrowed his

brow. "Or at least call for help. They are fine."

"No they aren't!" Relford yelled as he slammed his

fist against the doorframe, causing his hand to throb. "I should have gone with

them... I always go on assignments with Carris...

We always go together. Now she's in danger and I'm

here arguing with you!" He slammed his fist again.

He had been through this many times that day and the

day before with his master. He was extremely

frustrated now. Master Cypher didn't know what he had

felt... it was too strong to ignore. He needed to

help Carris and his master was trying to stop him.

Relford felt a trickle of anger.

A long silence hung in the air as the Padiwan and his

master stared each other in the eyes. Relford's amber

eyes flickered with traces of anger and absolute purpose. Master

Cypher's cold gray eyes remained calm. "Relford, I'm afraid

there's something I have to tell you. Please just

come in." Relford stood unblinking in the doorway.

Master Cypher held his gaze. "It's about you and

Carris."

Relford walked into the room, the door closing behind

him. "What about us?" he asked evenly, but with a

small edge to "us". Master Cypher rubbed his hand down

his face, through his short, sandy beard. He closed

his eyes; this wasn't going to be easy or pretty.

"Master Silbat and myself had a meeting with Master

Skywalker... about you and Cariss." He opened his

eyes and mentally prepared himself for the argument

that was sure to ensue.

Silence once again hung thick in the air. Relford

simply blinked and swallowed. He wasn't sure how to react. His

temper began to rise. "You did what?" he asked

softly. He slowly pulled down his hood. "You met

with Master Skywalker about me and Cariss?"

Master Cypher looked calmy at Relford's slightly red face again.

He had dreaded this conversation. Relford and Carris were the

two best students at theAcademy. Everyone knew that. As good as they were apart, they

were spectacular together. That was the problem. Now they

were inseparable, and Master Cypher knew why. 'Love',

he thought sadly, 'the burden of the Jedi... We can

never have what we fight to protect...' Now he saw the

anger flickering in his student's eyes. Master Cypher

drew a deep breath and began. "Relford, Master Silbat 

and myself have noticed how close you and Cariss have

become. I have avoided doing anything about it up

until now. But Master Silbat feels that we should

stop your relationship from going any further. I

agree. So does Master Skywalker." Master Cypher felt the resentment in his student growing and saw the betrayel in his eyes.

He swallowed the lump in throat. He hated doing this to Relford. 

He should have done it earlier, when it would have

been easier. But he couldn't bring himself to do it.

They were so happy. It made him happy. But Master

Silbat had made him face cold reality: Jedi were

forbidden to have lovers. Master Cypher didn't think

that Relford and Carris were lovers; they were in

love. But in the end, it was the same result: It was

forbidden.

"Now, I know you're angry, but you know the code.

Jedi can't have those kind of intimate

relationships... that's why you couldn't go with

Cariss. You can't go with her anywhere anymore. And you

aren't going now. Please try to understand." Master Cypher wanted to add "and forgive me", but couldn't bring himself to do it; he could

barely say anything as he watched Relford's fists clench. Master Cypher swallowed another lump in his throat.

'Damn the code', Relford thought to himself angrily.

He was furious with his master. He was drawing loud,

heavy breaths through his teeth. How could his master betray him like this? But he would have to deal with it later. Carris's safety was more

important. "Fine," Relford lied, "But her death will

be on your hands." He pulled his hood up and left the

room without another word.

Master Cypher sat down on his bed. He hoped that

Relford wasn't going to Carris and Master Silbat. He had said that he

wasn't, but Master Cypher didn't believe him.

At the same time, he knew that he couldn't stop him.

Relford was going to be kicked out of the Jedi order

for this. He put his head in his head in

his hands. The old Jedi Master felt a tear fall out of his eye.


	3. Power and Perdition

Power and Perdition

"_Carris, we're going to Aduba III. We have reason to_

_believe that there are Sith on the planet. We're_

_going there to investigate and, if need be, stop them_

_ourselves. We leave immediately." _

"_Yes, Master Silbat."_

"_What are the Sith doing on Aduba III, Master Silbat?"_

"_Padawan Relford, you aren't going."_

"_... What?"_

"_I said that you aren't going. Come now, Carris. We_

_leave immediately."_

"_But... But Master Silbat, Relford and I always work_

_together. He – " _

"_Quiet! Carris, I said that he is_

_not going... therefore, he is not going!"_

If only he had said something more, tried harder...

Relford shook his head to clear his mind. He looked

down at the Lightrunner's navigation screen. He set

the coordinates for one of the only two spaceports on

the entire water planet. He was positive that this

was the right one; the tug on his heart told him so.

Relford had taken the fastest ship in the entire Jedi

fleet, the Lightrunner. It was a light, sleek,

one-passenger ship with small living quarters in the

back. When met with protests he had given a glare

that could freeze the blood in a man's veins. He

judged that it had taken him about half the time to

arrive than it had taken Carris and Master Silbat.

His feeling of danger had been growing steadily

stronger the entire flight.

The spaceport was now in view. It was small and

consisted of only three large, gray durasteel

buildings with no windows that had begun to show the

effects of prolonged exposure to wet, salty air. The

vessels were mostly small, gray, two-passenger cargo

ships with the front section containing the cockpit

and the back, which was considerably larger, used to

transport loads. They weren't designed to go more

than about twenty feet above the water. The only

other ships that he saw were two completely destroyed

starfighters. Master Silbat's and the Sith's. As he

left his ship, he was blasted by warm, salty air and a

feeling that chilled him to the bone. DANGER!

Out of the building nearest to him burst two black cloaked 

figures. Relford sprinted after them. He fell in

beside Master Silbat and Carris, who had also just

exited the building.

Master Silbat's bald brow creased into a frown as he

ran. With his mouth not visible from beneath his

long, sliver-gray beard he yelled in panting breaths.

"What – are – you – doing here?"

"I think they're trying to escape in one of the cargo ships!" Relford 

shouted in reply with one long breath, choosing to ignore Master

Silbat's protests. The two Sith scrambled into the

cockpit of the closest ship. Relford saw Master

Silbat fling something into the ships single engine

mounted at the rear. A thermal detonator. A flash of

light and heat accompanied by a loud explosion

singaled that it had indeed detonated. Still, the

ship began to rise and Relford, Carris, and Master

Silbat all leapt into the cargo bay.

Incredibly, the ship's engine was able to push it away from the 

spaceport as the cargo bay's door slid shut. There

were several chains used for securing cargo hanging

from the ceiling. They weren't swinging very much;

the ship's engine was damaged.

Two figures stepped out of a sliding door

leading to the cockpit at the front end of the cargo

bay and the door slid closed behind them. One

was a human with short cropped, spiky blonde hair

and two long, thin braids hanging in front of both ears.

It was Adyn. There wasn't even the slightest trace of warmth in his pale blue eyes as

Relford had seen the last time they meet. His

handsome face was now twisted into a menacing sneer.

His master was humanoid but not quite human. He was

about even feet tall and his head nearly brushed the

top of the ship. His face and head were completely white and

devoid of hair. The Sith Lord's eyes were the

blackest color that Relford had ever seen; there

wasn't even a trace of white in them. They looked

like two windows in his white face that showed the

most evil regions of the Dark side.

All three of the Jedi charged at the two imposing Sith.

Relford's twin sabers were raised above his head, blue blades glowing, when

lightning suddenly erupted from the Sith Lord's

fingertips, catching him squarely in the chest. When

his vision stopped spinning, Relford saw that Carris

and Master Silbat had been no luckier, although master

Silbat leapt up once more.

In one swift motion, Adyn drew his double-bladed lightsaber, activated the red 

beams, sliced Master Silbat in half at the waist, sent

both halves flying to the back of the ship, and

returned his weapon to his hip.

Relford thought that he saw the

top half of Master Silbat's body shakily

pulling something light silver out of his singed robes and squeezing

it tightly before he died, but he wasn't sure. He and Carris turned their attention to the Sith again and focused all of thier concentration on

the Force, allowed it flow through them, and turned it against their opponents. The Sith Lord raised his

hand again, but this time there was no lightning.

Instead, Relford was lifted from his feet and sent flying

back. He hit the rear wall of the cargo ship with

such force that his breath was knocked out of him and

his lightsabers were sent clanging to the floor. When

he drew air back into his lungs, he saw that

Carris was on her knees, clutching her throat.

"Well, Jedi," the Sith Lord spoke in a liquid voice as

smooth as velvet, "it appears that you and your pretty

friend here are at my mercy, at the mercy of Darth

Lord Drosir. I believe that before I kill you, I shall

have a little fun. Yes, that will be nice..." Darth

Darth Drosir lifted Carris up and smiled as she kicked in the air. Then he let her drop to the floor. She tried to scramble away, but an

invisible force slammed her to the ground.

"Relford!" she cried. But Darth Drosir's loud

voice drowned her out. It was still liquid, but no

longer like velvet. It was more like a searing hot

razor blade.

"As I said, you are at my mercy."

Somehow his eyes seemed to get even darker. "And I

don't have very much." Relford noticed that Adyn was

wearing a frightening smile. As Relford began to

rise, more lightning came from Darth Drosir's fingers.

But this time it didn't stop immediately. He

writhed in agony under the blue streaks, screaming.

After the lightning had stopped, he was still

twitching but his hate filled eyes were on Darth Drosir.

With his voice filled with pleasure, Darth Drosir looked

directly into Relford's eyes and spoke: "Before I begin on

your friend – " Carris had suddenly gone pale and

quiet and her breathing had become shallow, but her green eyes burned with pure hatred that Relford had seen only once before: in Adyn's

eyes " – I believe that I will give you a small taste of what I shall do to her." He lifted his hand at Relford and squeezed it into a 

fist.

Relford's body suddenly exploded with pain. He felt

as if every nerve in his body were on fire. His

insides seemed to want to scream with pain. Even his

bones felt like they were being broken and crushed

over and over relentlessly. Relford could hear

screaming and realized that it was his own as he

contorted and thrashed on the floor. But, as soon as

it had started, it faded away.

Gasping for air, Relford sat himself back up, but felt an invisible force stop 

him from standing. Hatred filled him, consumed him.

They had caused him pain like he had never thought

possible. And they were going to do it to Carris. He

tried his hardest to stand up, but Adyn's eyes were

fixed on him with a focused stare. Relford could feel

power flowing from him, forcing him to remain seated.

His body and mind were too weak and dazed to fight it

much.

Darth Drosir smiled. "Now it's time for you to watch."

He pointed his hand at Carris, whose green eyes were

now filled with terror. Darth Drosir lauged as he

clenched his fist. Carris immediately started

screaming in agony. Relford clenched his eyes shut,

but the look of pain on her face seemed to be burned

into the backs of his eyelids. Screams filled the

cargo bay for thirty seconds, then stopped, replaced

by heavy gulps of breathing and soft laughter. When

Relford opened his eyes, he saw Carris lying on the

floor much like he had been.

Rage filled him. Hatred. An unstoppable need to kill Adyn and Darth Drosir. He flung

himself to his feet and saw Adyn flinch and stumble with surprise.

No sooner had he gotten up than he was flung back

down. Adyn had regained his focus, and Relford knew

that he could crush him with a thought.

Darth Drosir laughed again. It was a cold, mirthless

laugh that sent a shiver down Relford's spine. "My,

my, Jedi. I can feel your fury... you hate me,

don't you?" He smiled, curling is lips back to reveal

pointed yellow teeth. "I'm fairly certain that your

friend here does too." Carris was looking up at him,

her eyes filled with an anger that Relford had never

seen, not even in Adyn's eyes, although they were tainted with fear. He

knew that his must look that same way. "By the end

of our little game, you won't even remember what anger

feels like. You won't remember anything. Except for

pain and despair." The Sith Lord's voice filled with

amusement. "Or maybe even agony or fear if you're

lucky." His teeth still bared, he raised his hand at

Carris again.

Relford's back straightened as the pain subsided. Blood erupted from his mouth as he vomited. He wasn't sure how long it had gone on; no

more than twenty minutes, he supposed. But it felt like an 

eternity. Darth Drosir had been focusing most of his power on

Carris, occasionally striking Relford without

warning. He seemed to enjoy it immensely when they

cried. Even more when they cried for help. The most

when they cried out each other's names. Sweat soaked

every inch of both of them; blood and bile stained their tunics and the floor beneath them.. Relford's body was now surging with pain even

Darth Drosir's powers weren't on him.

But whatever he was feeling, he knew that

Carris's pain was much worse; she was receiving most

of the torture. Her screams echoed in Relford's head

long after the ship had stopped reverberating with

them. He could tell that Darth Drosir would kill them

soon; his sessions were becoming longer and longer.

Sometimes Relford could feel his heart beating as if

it were going to explode. He felt as if he wouldn't

be able to stand even if Adyn wasn't stopping him.

But Darth Drosir was wrong about one thing: Relford

hadn't forgotten his hatred. Quite the opposite: it

had grown. When Carris was screaming, it was his

only thought. How much he hated Darth Drosir and Adyn.

How much he wanted to kill them. And Relford knew that his burning, unadulturated fury would sutain him; it would keep him from being broken.

Darth Drosir turned to Relford as Carris lay panting

on her back, the front of her tunic a brown color with blood and bile. Relford tried to prepare himself for another thirty seconds of Hell. But

all of the air still left

his lungs when Darth Drosir's powers struck him. But

this time it didn't last thirty seconds. It went on.

For a while, Relford was aware of laughter and someone

screaming, but eventually his world faded to pure

blackness and silence. All he felt was pain. All he had ever

felt was pain. He was floating in a cold void while

his body was hot with agony. Time lost meaning; he was

there for hours. Years. Eternity. He ached for whatever

it was to stop. But then the pain slowly started to

melt away.

He choked on a bitter liquid in his throat and spit it out.

After a while, Relford's world became visible again. He

could see a tall thing that looked almost human except

for its eyes. He also saw a handsome blue-eyed man

with blonde hair with a look of absolute rapture on his face. Then he saw a beautiful girl. She had gorgeous long brown hair and striking

green eyes, but they were full of tears.

Relford's ears were suddenly flooded with noise. He

heard himself screaming. He heard the two men

laughing. He could hear the girl crying. He knew the

girl from somewhere... Something dropped painfully

into his eyes. He wiped it away and his hand came

back red. He couldn't feel the pain, but he knew that

his face was full of cuts. So was his chest and

stomach. Relford looked at his fingernails; they were

caked in blood. He had been clawing at himself. A

smooth, liquid velvety voice echoed around the room.

It was laced with mock admiration.

"I'm quite impressed, young Jedi. Nobody has ever

survived for five whole minutes. For that feat, you

have earned the privilege of seeing your friend suffer

the same as you did. She is already dying; She won't

last nearly as long..." A tone of disappointment

accented the last sentence. The tall white humanoid

with eyes like death smiled cruelly and turned to the

crying girl on the floor. He felt something whenever he looked at her; he knew her...

The pale creature's hand balled into a fist

and the girl started screaming. It was the worst kind of

sound that Relford could have imagined. Her eyes

opened briefly and found his. Relford's breath caught as he stared into their depths. Then she doubled over and her breathing

became shallow. Who was she? His body was tingling

with a dull pain and he was barely aware of himself.

But he knew that he knew that girl... 

Relford gasped and his eyes widened as his mind

opened like a floodgate. His thoughts, his memories,

and his awareness all poured back into his mind. He

looked over at Carris; his anger and loathing suddenly exploded

inside of him again. They were about to kill her in

the worst way Relford could imagine. He shot to his

feet, but the ship buckled and threw him back down.

He tried to stand again, but Adyn had caught him and

was using the invisible power of the Force to keep him

down once again.

His head tilted back, Darth Drosir starting laughing again as he

saw Relford. Carris was barely breathing now.

Fury ignited in every single muscle in Relford's body. He

felt the Force swirl around him like fire. The chains hanging on the ceiling near him swung and thrashed violently. He shot up

once again, making Adyn stumble. Relford's

lightsabers shot into his hands and he charged at

Adyn, who had drawn his double-bladed saber and swung

at him. Relford sidestepped and lunged into the

attack, slicing off Adyn's hands at the wrists. Then

he brought his elbow slamming down on the back of his neck.

There was a sickening snap and Adyn's body fell limply

to the floor.

Darth Drosir's eyes seemed as lifeless as

they had before, but his face was twisted in panic.

He raised his hand, but Relford seized it with his

mind and twisted the wrist until it popped.

He enjoyed the Sith Lord's scream of pain. Relford

felt the Force flow from him and pull Darth Drosir

through the air towards him. Him hand trembling with

rage, Relford brought the glowing blue blade of his

saber up from his hip and cut the monster in half from

crotch to head. The two halves of his body continued

to fly through the air until they hit the opposite

wall.

Carris looked up at him with her face ashen and her

eyes dull with agony. Rage was suddenly replaced by

pain; not physical pain like Darth Drosir had caused,

but something much worse. His very being, something he

couldn't quite grasp, cried. He dropped his weapons and began to move to

her when the ship buckled again, throwing him into the

wall. Then Relford heard an explosion that threatened

to split his head and white light filled his vision.

Seconds later he felt himself tumbling through the

air.

Slamming onto his back awoke his senses; his cuts filled with saltwater. He was

idly aware of the pain, but all he could think about was the flaming ship crashing into the water and if Carris was alive. Relford felt the water

rush into his lugs as he gasped for air. He could still hear the echoes of screaming as he lost consciousness.


End file.
